Metal siding for masonry structures



Sept. 8 1936. A CHENEY 2,054,049

METAL SIDING FOR MASONRY STRUCTURES Filed Oct. 21, 1955 Patented Sept. 8, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE METAL SIDING FOR MASONRY STRUCTURES setts Application October 21, 1933, Serial No. 694,661

11 Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements primarily of metal sidings for masonry structures, such as flashings, sidings and the like, and aims generally to improve existing constructions to the extent that the material may be more quickly and readily applied than heretofore and at the same time provide a water-tight construction for the masonry walls.

It is well known that masonry walls, regardless of the materials used, are porous to a certain extent, and permit seepage of water downwardly through the walls, resulting. in defacement of the interior walls or ceilings or destruction of the masonry structure due to freezing of the water trapped in said wall. One method of overcoming the difficulties of Water seepage is to flash through the wall with sheet metal at various places throughout the vertical height of the wall so as to drain the water of infiltration from the wall and prevent seepage below the roof line.

Many architects prefer to flash a parapet well just below the roof line or cap the coping stone with sheet metal, and cover a vertical face of the wall with sheet metal so as to prevent any water such as a driving rain or melting snow from coming in contact with the porous masonry.

Heretofore plain sheet metal has been used for the purpose, particularly for the siding covering a vertical face of the parapet wall. This siding, composed of flat metal sheets, has heretofore been connected end to end by a conventional standing seam, such as is commonly used in connecting roofing sheets, made by folding adjacent edges of adjoining sheets upon each other several times, as is fully understood in the art.

In prior constructions where such siding is rigidly connected to a through-wall flashing embedded in the wall, it will be apparent that the Furthermore, it has long been known that itis highly desirable that a masonry wall be open to the air on both sides, and thus be permitted to breathe as it is termed in the art. In prior cases where a vertical face of the wall is covered by a fiat sheet metal siding, the siding hugs the wall closely, and prevents rapid evaporation OJ. moisture from the wall. This causes sweating between the wall and siding, and upon condensing, permitswater of condensation to drip down back of the siding and roofing. Freezing of the water of condensation often causes rupture of the roofing material and consequent leakage at the roof joint.

My invention has for its principal aims and advantages the provision of a vertical wall siding that will overcome the above stated objections, and which may be readily applied, will permit the wall to breath, and will prevent buckling of the adjacent sheets due to expansion and contraction of the sheets.

The invention also involves other aims and objects of more general application, as will appear to those skilled in the art, from a consideration of the following description, reference being hadv to the accompanying drawing which is illustrative of some of the embodiments of my invention.

In the drawing- Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a. portion of a parapet wall, illustrating my improved siding applied thereto, portions of the wall being broken away better to illustrate the preferred construction;

Fig. 2 is a detail sectional view of portions of two adjacent sheets of siding illustrating one manner of connecting them together from an expansible water-tight joint;

Fig. 3 is a detail view illustrating one manner of embodying my improved siding in parapet walls of concrete construction;

Fig. 4 is a detail view illustrating one manner of connecting the siding to an anchoring means such as a through-wall flashing;

Fig. 5 is a detail view illustrating one manner in which the bottom portion of the siding may overlap and protect the roof joint; and

Fig. 6 is a detail view illustrating one manner of using my improved siding in conjunction with a metal cap member covering a coping.

My invention is highly useful in waterproofing the parapet wall of masonry buildings, as shown in Fig. 1, comprising a roof l0, parapet wall H, composed of brickwork l2 surmounted by a coping stone or block l3, the several parts of said wall being laid on layers of binding material l4, such as mortar, as is usual in the erection of masonry structures.

When my invention is embodied on a new parapet wall, under construction, a through-wall flashing l8, of any suitable construction is embedded in the wall between superposed courses of masonry,

as for example, between the brickwork l2 and coping stone I3, so as to cut off and prevent any downward seepage of water into the brickwork that may seep into the coping stone I3. This through-wall flashing may be of any preferred construction, preferably one that, when embedded in a mortar joint I4, may bond the adjacent courses of masonry together. There are several types of such through-wall flashings on the market known as bonded or interlocking wall flashings, and one preferred form is shown in my prior Patent No. 1,715,000, granted May 28, 1929, and although it is highly advantageous to use a bonded or interlocking wall flashing, my invention is not restricted solely to use therewith. The flashing I8 may advantageously be of a greater width than the width of the wall, so as to extend entirely therethrough and a marginal portion or flange 19 thereof may be bent down wardly to overlap the sheet metal siding.

In. order to cover one vertical face of the parapet wall, I provide a sheet metal siding 20 which advantageously may be slightly less in height than the vertical face of the parapet wall, and protect it against driving rains or snows. Advantageously this siding overlies a base flashing 2|, preferably of sheet metal, which overlies the adjacent surfaces of the parapet wall and roof, so as to provide a water-tight flashing for the roof joint, as is usual.

Advantageously, the siding 20 is of slightly less height than the distance between the roof I I] and flashing I8 so as to provide an air circulating channel 22 immediately below that portion of the flashing that extends beyond the wall I l, and the siding may be ribbed vertically, as at 23, or otherwise bent, to provide air circulating passages 24 between the outer face of the wall and the inner face of the siding 20. In cases where the lower edge of the siding 20 terminates short and above the roof line, as shown in Fig. 1, there are presented to the wind currents vertical air circulating channels 24, open atthe bottom, and communicating with a longitudinal air circulating channel 22 adjacent the upper portion of the side. Thus the wall may be permitted to breathe; that is, the circulation of air is not excluded from the face of the wall, and rapid evaporation of any moisture from the wall is permitted. This avoids excessive sweating of the walls and any water of condensation that may collect on the inner face of the siding may drain readily from the open bottom edge thereof onto the roofing. Furthermore, the vertical ribbing of the siding, particularly when formed as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, greatly increases the stiffness and rigidity thereof, so that it will stay in place even in high winds.

The siding 20 for a parapet wall is composed of a series of lengths of sheet metal, which may preferably be ribbed in dovetail form, as shown, or in saw-tooth or v-shaped form, whichever is better suited to the particular style and architecture of the building. As this siding is exposed to the elements, it is obviously subjected to different temperature conditions than other sheet metal flashings used, and as is well known, the metal sheets, which are preferably of copper, have a different coefficient of expansion from the masonry materials composing the wall. Hence the series of metal sheets composing the siding are preferably connected together by an expansible and contractible water-tight joint.

A highly satisfactory expansible and watertight joint between the adjacent sheets may be formed in the manner shown in Fig. 2. According to this feature of my invention, one edge portion of each sheet is preferably flat or plain, as at 25, and the opposite edge is formed with a lock portion 26 adapted to slidably receive the portion 25 of the next adjacent sheet. This lock portion 26 may be formed advantageously by reversely bending the metal of the lock portion as at 2'5, to provide a vertical channel 28, opening toward the end of the sheet, and adapted slidably to receive the plain end 25 of the adjacent sheet. The lock portion 26 of one sheet overlaps the plain end 25 of the adjoining sheet to a considerable extent, and thus provides an expandible slip joint that will permit expansion and contraction of the sheets without buckling. The end of the sheet at the lock portion is bent outwardly as at 29, providing a confined channel 30 between the overlapping portions of the two sheets which will prevent leakage of water back of the siding.

In using my improved vertical siding in construction such as shown in Fig. l, the mason inserts the through-wall flashing during the construction of the parapet wall, leaving the counter flange portion 19 extending inwardly beyond the wall. After the construction of the wall and before laying the roof, the base flashing 2i may be applied to flash the roof joint as is customary practice. The vertical siding 20 may then be applied to the inner vertical face of the parapet wall. The sheets are nailed to the wall as at 3| along one marginal edge thereof, the nailing preferably being along the lock portion midway between the channel 28 and the inturned marginal flange 29 as shown in Fig. 2. After one sheet is securely fastened to the wall, the second sheet is applied by merely inserting the plain edge 25 into the channel 28 and nailing the opposite marginal lock portion of the wall as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The engagement between the opposite faces of the channel portion 28 and the plain end 25 is suificiently tight that the frictional contact will support the plain end of the siding sheet. If desired, an additional nailing may later be made at the upper central portion of the sheet to facilitate hanging of the sheets. After the vertical siding is in place, the counter flange portion IQ of the through-wall flashing is preferably turned down over the upper edge portion of the siding so as to overlap the upper por tion of the siding and prevent the entrance of water behind the siding.

It will thus be seen that the vertical siding may be quickly and economically applied to the face of the Wall. No difficult and expensive seaming is required and no soldering is necessary.

The assembled construction provides an absolute water-tight protection for the parapet wall. Any water seeping through the coping stone will strike the through-wall flashing l8 and drain outwardly toward the inner face of the parapet wall. As the counter flashing i9 overlaps the upper edge of the vertical wall siding, the seepage of water which drains through the flashing will drain to the outer face of the siding, preventing leakage of water down into the roof joint. The vertical ribbed siding is extremely rigid in its construction and of pleasing appearance, and the ribbed portions spaced from the face of the wall, provide air circulating passages between the face of the wall and the siding to permit rapid evaporation of any moisture that may be in the wall by reason of a driving rain against the outer face.

The ribbed siding, according to my invention, may be applied to a parapet wall of concrete construction, such as shown in Fig. 3, by molding into the wall nailing'strips' 32 preferably of wood as clearly shown. The siding is applied in exactly the same manner as described in con-' I nection with Fig. 1.

Instead of nailing the siding to the vertical face of the wall as described above, the throughwall flashing may be provided with a double flanged portion 33 extending beyond the face of the wall as shown in Fig. 4, and the vertical siding may be formed with an angularly bent flanged portion 34 so that the double flanged portion 33 may be folded upon the flanged portion 34 and then bent downwardly in toward the wall so as to lock and support the siding in place. In this arrangement the through wall flashing acts not only to prevent seepage of the water downwardly through the wall but also affords a support for the siding.

Instead of the lower edge of the vertical siding terminating short of the roof as shown in Fig. 1, the vertical siding may be flanged as at 35 to overlie a portion of the inclined portion 36 between the roof and the parapet wall. A plastic base flashing 31 may cover the roof and extend over the inclined portion 36 and under the vertical siding to insure an adequate water-tight protection for the roof joint.

When it is desired to provide a water-tight construction for parapet walls that have already been constructed, and it is unfeasible to insert the through-Wall flashing under the coping, the coping may be protected against seepage by the provision of a cap flashing 39 as shown in Fig. 6, which may cover the exposed surfaces of the coping. The cap flashing 39 may advantageously have a depending flange 40 extending downwardly below the coping along the inner vertical face of the parapet wall, which flange 40 may overlie the vertical siding as in Fig. 1, or may be interlocked with the siding as in Fig. 4.

Advantages of my invention reside in the simplicity of construction, the ease with which the siding may be applied to the wall and the further advantage of permitting the breathing of the wall in cases where the sheet metal siding is used.

Obviously the invention is not restricted to the particular shape of the siding and although a dovetailed vertical ribbed siding is shown herein, it is apparent that the functions of permitting the wall to breathe may be accomplished by other shapes and designs of ribs, it being advantageous to provide passages between the wall and siding for the circulation of air therethrough. The novel expansible and contractible watertight joint permits expansion and contraction of the metal siding independently of the other parts of the wall construction without buckling of the siding as has been the difliculty heretofore, and obviously this feature of the invention is not limited to other details and arrangements of the illustrated embodiment, but is applicable to other What I- intend to protect by. Letters Patent is pointed out in the following appended claims:

1. In combination with a masonry wall, means comprising a continuous'sheet metal flashing for preventing seepage of water downwardly through said wall, and a sheet metal siding overlying a vertical face of said wall, said siding being ribbed to provide a stiff sheet metal covering of light weight construction and to provide circulation of air between said wall and siding to permit said wall to breathe.

- '2. In combination with a masonry wall, means comprising a continuous sheet metal flashing for preventing seepage of water downwardly through said. wall, and a sheet metal siding overlying a vertical face of said wall and means permitting the evaporation of moisture of infiltration through said wall from between the wall and siding comprising a plurality of sheets of metal, and means connecting said sheets of siding together to provide water-tight expansible and contractable siding.

' 3. In combination with a masonry wall, means comprising a continuous sheet metal flashing for preventing seepage or" water downwardly through said wall, and a sheet metal siding overlying 'a vertical face of said wall comprising a plurality of sheet of metal secured together to provide a continuous water-tight covering for said wall, and means permitting the evaporation of moisture of infiltration through said wall from between the wall and siding and means permitting expansion and contraction of said sheets independently of each other.

4. In combination with a masonry wall, means comprising a continuous sheet metal flashing for preventing seepage of water downwardly through said wall, and a sheet metal siding overlying a vertical face of said wall comprising a plurality of sheets of metal supported by said wall and secured together to provide a continuous watertight covering for said wall, and means permitting the evaporation of moisture of infiltration through said wall from between the wall and siding and means permitting expansion and contraction of said sheets independently of each other.

5. In combination with a masonry wall, means comprising a continuous sheet metal flashing for preventing seepage of water downwardly through said wall, and a sheet metal siding overlying a vertical face of said wall comprising a plurality of sheets of metal supported by said flashing and secured together to provide a continuous watertight covering for said wall, and means permitting the evaporation of moisture of infiltration through said wall from between the wall and siding and means permitting expansion and contraction of said sheets independently of each other.

6. A sheet metal flashing for masonry walls comprising a means for flashing the wall to prevent seepage of water downwardly into the wall, a sheet metal siding overlying a vertical face of said wall, and means for reinforcing said siding vertically and permitting circulation of air between said siding and wall to readily evaporate moisture of infiltration from said wall.

'7. A sheet metal flashing for masonry walls comprising a means for flashing the wall to prevent seepage of water downwardly into the wall,

a sheet metal siding overlying a vertical face of said wall, said siding being ribbed vertically to reinforce it and to permit free circulation of air between said siding and wall to readily evaporate moisture of infiltration from said wall.

8. A sheet metal flashing for masonry walls comprising a means for flashing the wall to prevent seepage of water downwardly into the wall, a

sheet metal siding overlying a vertical face of said wall, said siding being ribbed vertically to reinforce it, and to permit circulation of air between the siding and wall to permit the wall to breathe, and means for slidably connecting adjoining sheets of siding affording a water-tight expansible and contractible joint therebetween. 9. A sheet of flashing or siding comprising a sheet of metal formed with a plurality of spaced longitudinal ribs, one marginal edge of saidsheet being plain and the opposite edge portion of said sheet beyond the lastrib being formed with a deep open channel to slidably receive the plain edge portion of an adjoining sheet, the marginal edge of said sheet adjacent said channel being formed with a water-deflecting flange, adapted to be positioned within and spaced from the end walls of one of the ribs of an adjoining sheet, and the portion of said sheet between said flange and channel affording an area of substantial size for attaching said sheet to a support or the like.

10. A water-tight expansion joint for sheet metal flashings, sidings, roofings and the like comprising a sheet of metal formed with a plurality of spaced longitudinal ribs bent to provide an elongated channel near and opening toward one edge of the sheet, a water-deflecting flange at the adjacent edge, the portions of said sheet between said channel and flange aifording means for securing the sheet to a support or the like, said channel being adapted to receive an edge portion of an adjoining sheet the adjacent rib of which is of greater width than the distance between the channel and flange so that the side walls of said rib are spaced from said flange, whereby said sheets are free to expand and contract independently of each other without buckling.

11. In combination with a masonry building having a roof and a wall extending above the roof, of a sheet metal siding, means for securing said siding in place to cover the vertical face of said wall with portions thereof spaced from the vertical face of said wall, the upper and lower edges of said siding providing means for the flow of air between :and from the spaces between said siding and Wall to permit the ready evaporation of moisture of infiltration through said wall from between the wall and siding, and a flashing member overlying and covering the upper portion of said siding.

ALLAN CHENEY. 

